


the gift of giving

by ghibliterritory



Category: Ghostbusters (Movies 1984-1989)
Genre: M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, egon is head over heels, ray gets egon a gift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-24 16:01:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21102143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghibliterritory/pseuds/ghibliterritory
Summary: Egon gets a visit from a friend during class





	the gift of giving

**Author's Note:**

> i know this is gonna be bad but i cannot be assed to care

Egon Spengler couldn’t lie, there was an addictive power that came with teaching.   
  
He wouldn’t call himself a power hungry man by any means, he didn’t think the idea was a particularly intriguing one to pursue. But there was no denying that, while teaching was stressful, he found himself enjoying the hint of control he had with the job. Choosing the study topics and assignments, when classes would meet and how much students actually had to try (which wasn’t much, he was just as lazy as they were). It was… a good feeling, to put it in understandable terms.   
  
That feeling was rushing to him as he stood in front of an average sized class, lecturing to them about the simple science behind ghosts. It was a strange topic, to be sure, but it paid the bills. Plus it was his own personal interest, which was a bonus.    
  
Egon was a bit surprised, however, that his class was as large as it was, considering that it was the last day of classes for the semester, and the class itself wasn’t a popular pick. But he had no reason to complain.   
  
“Now, the basic matter of a spirit-” He spoke as clearly as he could naturally manage, drawing what he imagined a generic spector might look like on a rather large chalkboard. “-Is neither a gas, a solid, or a liquid. It is not exactly  _ matter _ to begin with. Most spirits can leave a residue of plasma with anything it might interact with, but most apparitions are composed of energy converted into a semi physical matter, depending on how much energy it manifests.” He paused his sketching and turned to his class, pushing his glasses further up onto his nose. “This can help to explain the difference between a simple ghost and a poltergeist. One is merely energy that cannot be affected by its surroundings, one can manipulate its environment to its heart’s content. So the question is-”   
  
A small cough broke him from his concentration, and Egon looked to his side to see a familiar face. Ray Stantz- a man who he would consider his partner in crime- standing in the classroom doorway and grinning at him like a child showing off a new hole where a tooth used to be. Almost as soon as he made eye contact, he felt his face melt into a mirroring smile. Ray’s nearly constant upbeat attitude was contagious.   
  
Egon turned back to his class with that smile. “Well, it’s something that you’ll have to answer during break. I handed you your packets early in the week, and I expect them done by the time you come back for your final exams. Class is over, have a good Christmas everyone.”   
  
While the students were mildly confused, seeing how there were still thirty minutes left of class according to the clock, no one bothered to question it and they all left in haste. Egon turned his full attention to Ray as they left, who came over to him once it was clear to do so.   
  
“Your theories are shit, Spengs.” Ray told him with that same ridiculous smile, making him snort softly in a laugh. “They’re not theories, they’re speculations of fact.” Egon corrected. “What brings you down here early? I thought we were meeting for dinner with Venkman around seven.”   
  
Ray shrugged, going to bite on his lip to keep his smile from going. Egon noticed, as he tended to do with everything, but didn’t question it. “I figured I’d keep you company now that my classes are done.” His friend replied, rocking on his heels. “I mean, no one wants to spend forty five minutes grading papers alone. That’s cruel, especially before Christmas break.”   
  
“Well, be my guest.” Egon told him. “I’m certainly not opposed to company. Your company in particular is rather amusing and, as one might have called it years ago, ‘groovy’.” He smiled to himself some more at that. It didn’t seem like very long ago when that was a common adjective in the English language. But, a decade or two can change a lot, as he’d come to notice.   
  
Thankfully enough, Ray chuckled at the comment, shaking his head a bit. “Man, what a time  _ that _ was.” He sighed. Egon had started to prepare a reply, probably something about a ‘simpler’ time, but his eyes caught sight of something for the first time. A small paper bag hanging from Ray’s wrist. He raised a brow. “Christmas shopping already, Stantz?”

The other blinked and looked at the bag, his cheeks going a bit pink. ”Oh. That. Right.” He mumbled. He was oddly quiet, thinking intensely. Egon had seen it all happen before. He knew Ray’s behaviors better than Ray probably did. “Something important?”   
  
“Yeah,” Ray murmured. His fingers went to mess with a button on his jacket. He was avoiding eye contact now. “Well, it’s uh… You see... Okay, I uh… I know you don’t really celebrate Christmas and all that, but I saw this thing the other day, and it made me think of you for some reason that I  _ still _ can’t figure out, but… oh, just- here.” He shuffled the bag off of his wrist and handed it to Egon quickly, still not really looking at him. Egon raised a brow. Whatever it was couldn’t have  _ really _ been cause for so much embarrassment. But, in a way, it was sweet.   
  
He took the bag and carefully peeked inside, squinting at the bright green paper bag stuffing inside. How perfect. Carefully, he removed the paper, and paused at the actual present underneath. Egon reached in and took it out with even more care than the paper, letting the bag fall to the ground.   
  
In his hands was a giraffe. It wasn’t horrendously small, but it fit in his hands rather well. It was a bright, pastel yellow, with soft fur and no spots. It’s middle section was hard, and his fingers brushed up against a small key, similar to ones seen on music boxes and most wind-up toys.

“Raymond,” He spoke quietly, turning the giraffe around in his hands. “What is it?”   
  
Finally, Ray managed to look up at his face. “That is, uh… Harold.” He said. “The- The owner of the store said that was his name. Isn’t he adorable?” He asked, picking up his smile a little bit again. Egon stared at it curiously. “Yes, very. But… why did you get me a toy? You do remember that I’m a fully grown man?”

Ray nodded, focusing his attention on the toy. “I’m not entirely sure… I was walking to work and I just saw it in a window, and it made me think of you. Probably something you mentioned from your childhood…” That made Egon look up, slightly stunned for a few reasons. To start, he’d rarely talked about his childhood, and on top of that, he didn’t think Ray would have remembered anything he might have said. His eyes went back to the giraffe.   
  
It was rather cute. Simple, probably a baby’s toy realistically. Egon let his fingers roam until they grabbed onto the small key, letting him turn it a few times. A soft lullaby played from it, and it’s head moved in slow circles as the music played. Something in the back of his eyes was beginning to sting and bother him. Ray looked back at him again, watching Egon’s face as he studied the toy. “...Is this a weird gift?”   
  
Once Ray spoke, Egon snapped out of the tiny trance placed on him by the animal, and he went to rub at one of his eyes. “No, no, it’s… it’s really thoughtful, Raymond, thank you.” He murmured. Ray’s smile picked up to its usual brightness almost instantly. “Aw, good, I-I’m glad you like it. I wasn’t sure what you’d think about it.” He admitted, letting a hand roam up to the back of his neck. “So… what should we do to waste the time between now and dinner?”   
  
Egon looked at Ray and smiled a tight lipped smile, holding the giraffe a little tighter. “We could go terrorize pigeons. That’s strangely entertaining.” He suggested. Ray laughed. “Yeah, why the hell not? We can wander and find something real to do while we’re at it.” He said. “I’ll meet you out in the hall- I really need some water.”   
  
With that, he turned and sped out, leaving Egon in his empty classroom. His eyes turned once again to the toy. Harold. He smiled at it brightly, and leaned down to pick up the bag, gently placing the toy inside and covering it with the paper.   
  
He wasn’t sure quite what he’d do without Raymond Stantz to brighten up his life, to be sure.

Gathering his things, Egon left the classroom as quickly as he could, turning the lights off before joining his friend for another long night together.


End file.
